{"id":290802,"date":"2026-02-19T01:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/290802\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T01:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:04:16","slug":"this-one-day-we-saw-something-darker-diver-films-unbelievable-animal-attack-in-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/290802\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis one day, we saw something darker.\u201d\u00a0Diver films “unbelievable” animal attack in Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

A filmmaker visiting the Los Islotes sea lion colony north of La Paz, Mexico, was expecting to dive with hundreds of friendly\u00a0sea lions<\/a>\u00a0but was surprised by a staggering sight: sea lions attacking a\u00a0pufferfish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve dived all over the world, and I\u2019ve spent years diving in Baja California Sur, but this day I saw something I had never seen before,\u201d says ocean filmmaker and dive expedition leader\u00a0Matthew David Kaplan<\/a>. \u201cThis one day, we saw something darker.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been observing the colony in the Esp\u00edritu Santo Marine Park when he noticed an unusual \u2013 and somewhat chilling \u2013 behaviour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA sea lion<\/a> was abusing and mauling a beautiful black guineafowl pufferfish<\/a>,\u201d says Kaplan. \u201cIt would grab the pufferfish, pull it up toward the surface, and bite it. Then the terrified pufferfish would frantically swim down trying to escape, only to be pulled back up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several sea lions were ganging up on the poor little fish, which was doing everything it could to escape. \u201cAnd just as the pufferfish was about to find refuge under a rock, they would pull it by the tail and it would start over again,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like it,\u201d says Kaplan, who filmed the sea lions attacking the pufferfish in Baja California Sur. Credit: Matthew David Kaplan<\/p>\n

To try to stop itself getting eaten, the pufferfish had ballooned itself into a large ball \u2013 they do this by pumping water or air into their stomachs as a means of self-defence. But that didn\u2019t stop the determined sea lions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The reason the sea lions were beating up on this pufferfish might surprise you. \u201cThey\u2019re basically doing it to get high,\u201d says Kaplan. \u201cApparently there\u2019s a toxin<\/a> in the pufferfish that gives them a narcotic effect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another way pufferfish defend themselves from predators is through the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) present in their bodies. It\u2019s the same toxic substance that makes the\u00a0blue-ringed octopus<\/a>\u00a0so dangerous. But sea lions may have learned that small doses give them a pleasant buzz.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn tiny exposure it may create a strange, dulled, disoriented sensation,\u201d says Kaplan, \u201cwhich could be part of why animals mess with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaplan tried to intervene, escorting the fish to the safety of the rocks. \u201cMost people say don\u2019t ever interfere with nature but I just couldn\u2019t help myself,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought I had helped it but just as I left, it got pulled out again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, the divers had to return to the surface, reluctantly leaving the pufferfish behind. \u201cWe have no idea how much longer the sea lions kept at it,\u201d he says. \u201cUnbelievable to witness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image and video credit: Ocean filmmaker and dive expedition leader Matthew David Kaplan<\/a><\/p>\n

More dramatic wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A filmmaker visiting the Los Islotes sea lion colony north of La Paz, Mexico, was expecting to dive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[111,139,69,147,406],"class_list":["post-290802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}